The Yule Ball 2
by Fiona Flamingo
Summary: Chapter 2 UP! It's seventh year and things have changed. Ron and Hermione have formed a 'special bond'. Harry is lonely and ends up falling for someone totally unexpected. Ginny has her eye on bad-boy, Draco. Luna has fallen head over heels in love with a
1. Chapter One

The Yule Ball 2

It's seventh year and things have changed. Ron and Hermione have formed a 'special bond'. Harry is lonely and ends up falling for someone totally unexpected. Ginny has her eye on bad-boy, Draco. Luna has fallen head over heels in love with a wizard she doesn't even know. Cho is so desperate she begins dating Neville. Pansy has tricks up her sleeve to get the boy she loves. Then the much-awaited Yule Ball 2 arrives. Who will end up with whom?

R/He, Ha/Pr, L/S, Lu/Ol, G/Dr, G/N, Dr/Pa, De/C

Chapter One

The glorious season of winter had set in and the castle was filled with warm, comforting air of Christmastime. Wreaths adorned the doors; lively fairies fluttered around, and, of course, mistletoe were hung wherever possible. Harry was glad he was staying for the holidays. Then again, most of the students were staying since, for the second time, a Yule Ball was going to be held at Hogwarts. Harry wandered aimlessly, searching for something to do. He thought of asking Ron and Hermione if they wanted to get a mug of steaming coca courtesy of Dobby, the houseelf. He soon decided against the idea, since he suspected Ron and Hermione were snogging behind a statue or other. Harry smiled to himself; that was what they did nowadays anyway. Deep in thought, Harry strolled blindly ahead. He walked smack into Parvati Patil.

Harry bit his lip. "Sorry!" he cried. He glanced at Parvati sprawled on the floor with an odd expression written in her eyes.

"Well, help me up, Potter," she commented dryly.

Harry blushed, immediately extending his hand. Parvati took it and jumped to her feet.

"Sorry," Harry repeated. To his surprise, Parvati chuckled a bit. "No, it's quite alright. Just watch where you're going…." She smiled at him and Harry experienced a strange feeling at the pit of his abdomen. He cleared his throat. "So…er…you're staying for the ball, I suppose…?"

Parvati's eyes clouded over as she gazed at floor. Harry felt awkward. He wasn't even sure why he asked her that question.

"Are you ok?" He asked finally.

Parvati snapped back to attention. Harry noticed that her eyes were glistening with tears. How did this happen, he thought? One moment she was fine and the next….

"Padma and I have nowhere to go…our mother died t-this summer…." Parvati's shoulders were slouched and her dark hair fell over her face like a curtain. Harry gulped. "I'm sorry to hear about that," he said softly. Parvati raised her head and spoke in hard voice. "She was murdered by a death eater…."

Harry eyes widened, he had remembered reading about that death in the paper. Harry could glimpse the surge of hatred etched on her face. Impulsively, he reached out and grabbed her hand and sort of squeezed it. If Parvati was surprised, she didn't show it. After a few minutes of standing in the same position, Parvati looked up at Harry, her eyes full of gratitude.

"You're really nice, Harry…thank you," she murmured softly and gently let go of his hand. She walked away, her beautiful black hair swinging back and forth. Harry watched her go, the fluttery sensation finally settling in his stomach. He gazed at the hand, which had grazed Parvati's own with utter disbelief. Then, a smile tugging at the corner of his lips, he walked back to the Gryffindor Common room. _How totally unexpected…._ He thought to himself.

In the empty Gryffindor Boys' Dormitory, Hermione and Ron were tangled up in one in other, kissing passionately. They paused and came up for air. Hermione gazed into Ron's clear blue eyes and felt herself falling in love all over again. He was just _so_ perfect for her. She sighed and touched her lips to his, feeling the desire flow through her veins. Hermione ran her hands through his soft red curls gently.

"Oh…Ron…" she gasped. Ron smiled fondly down at her.

"Hermione…I love you," Ron declared affectionately.

They kissed once again and Hermione drank in essence of Ron Weasly willingly.

"I love you too, Ron," she returned, delicately touching his cheek. Ron brought her close. "Will you go to the ball with me?" he questioned, his voice suddenly wavering.

Hermione shut her eyes and nodded contently. _Please tell me this isn't a dream_, she thought giddily.

Lavender Brown was carefully brushing her silky brown curls when Seamus Finnegan barged into the Girls' Dormitory.

Lavender wheeled around, her heart thudding. "How did you get here!" she gasped when she glimpsed her boyfriend wearing a triumphant smile.

"Borrowed Harry's Firebolt. Don't tell him though." Seamus set the top-notch broom on Hermione's bed and put his arms around Lavender's waist, gently nibbling on her ear. Lavender suddenly jerked away from him. "Seamus!" she cried. Seamus sighed; Lavender was always slightly hesitant to do anything new.

"Sorry, sorry," murmured Seamus, sitting down on Lavender's bed. Lavender kissed him lightly on the cheek. "Good…now why _are _you here?" she queried.

Seamus put on a puppy dog expression. "What? I _can't_ visit my girlfriend?"

Lavender rolled her eyes. "Of course, you can, Seamy, dear," she purred, tousling his sandy hair. "Well…there is that ball that I want to go to…" Seamus began slyly.

"Hmmm…" said Lavender, continuing to brush her hair.

"Only problem is I need a partner,"

"Really?" murmured Lavender, fully aware what this was leading to.

Seamus slid off the bed and end up on one knee. He took Lavender's hand and gazed into her beautiful eyes. "Will you come with me?" he whispered.

Lavender shrugged. "Actually no, Seamus," she said, smiling to herself.

Seamus's eyes popped. "_No!"_ He gasped.

"Nope,"clarified Lavender.

"Why?"

"I have my reasons, but they do include you, Seamy," explained Lavender, "Don't worry, you'll find out," she added, seeing Seamus's shocked expression. With that Lavender handed Seamus the Firebolt and gently pushed him out of the dormitory.

Luna Lovegood was by herself as usual, sipping on her chocolate milkshake and reading, when Ginny Weasly came to join her. "What's up, Luna?" Ginny asked staring at Luna curiously. Luna hurriedly shut the latest issue of Quidditch Quills and concentrated on her redheaded friend. "Hi, Ginny. How's Ronald?" It almost came naturally, even though Luna no longer had a crush on Ginny's brother.

"Ok, I suppose. What were you reading?" Ginny asked.

"Oh…um Quidditch Quills…" Luna trailed off, her eyes flicking to the magazine. Unexpectedly her heart did a little flip-flop. Whenever she glimpsed his pictures in magazines, her mind went into dreamland and her heart to gymnastics practice. It was not a good combination. It often made Luna seem more flaky and klutzy than normally perceived.

"I didn't know you liked Quidditch!" Ginny exclaimed, genuinely surprised. She pulled Luna's magazine toward her. Luna barely noticed, bobbing her dirty blond head slightly. If I tell her, she'll think I'm crazy, Luna thought inwardly. Then again, most people thought she was crazy…so it wouldn't hurt. Ginny was flipping eagerly, through the magazine. Her eyes fell upon a familiar face.

"Hey, Luna! Isn't that Oliver Wood? He went to Hogwarts!" she cried, prodding Luna. Luna was jerked out of dreamland. When she saw the picture Ginny was pointing at, her large grey eyes widened.

"He went to Hogwarts?" she choked.

Ginny gazed at her strangely. "Yeah…he was on the Gryffindor Quidditch team."

Luna bit her lip. "I-I didn't know that," she stammered. She jumped from the bench, nearly knocking down her milkshake. "I have to go…" she cried, flustered for the first time. Barely thinking, Luna fled from the great hall, Ginny's words running through her mind. _He went to Hogwarts…!_

Back in the Great Hall, Ginny frowned at picture of Wood. _Hmm,_ that Luna was acting strange…. Ginny shut the magazine, which had the words _'Hogwarts Library'_ boldly stamped across it. Looks like Luna doesn't want it, Ginny thought, might as well return it, then. Ginny gracefully rose from the bench, clutching the magazine in hand and trudged towards the library. She arrived to find it bolted shut and a sneering Draco Malfoy waiting outside.

"What do you want, Weasly?" snapped Malfoy.

"Shut up, Malfoy," Ginny hissed, resisting the urge to whack him on the head. She folded her arms and gazed sourly about. Where was that Madam Pince?

Appearing to have read her mind, Draco answered icily, "the bookbat's on her lunch break, if you're too shy to ask me."

"What _are _you doing at the library, Malfoy? I thought you hired servants to do homework for you!" Ginny cried, her temper flaring.

Draco wrinkled his nose. "I might be able to afford servants, Weasel, but I do it all by myself."

Ginny snorted. "I'm so proud of you, Draco," she pretended to whimper.

Draco gave a start. "What did you call me?"

Ginny frowned. "_Draco_…that's your name, isn't it?" she snapped.

"Very funny, _Ginny_. It's just that you never call me by my first name."

It was Ginny's turn to be surprised. "Neither have you," she accused, but suddenly she felt strange. Shy, even. And why was Draco Malfoy staring at her like that? The git.

"That's true," spoke Draco, examining his nails carefully. Ginny noticed how sleek his white-blond hair looked and shuddered slightly. _What was happening to her?_ Draco moved closer. "Something wrong, weasel?" he asked. _Was he actually concerned?_ Ginny could feel his cool breath on her neck. Shaken, she stared into his pale grey eyes. "N-No.…' she stammered.

Then all of a sudden her lips met his and they were kissing madly. In front of _the library_! Draco's lips were warm and delicious on her own and Ginny felt as if she been transported to Loveland. She deepened the kiss, hardly aware of what she was doing. Draco pulled her closer and all she could feel was him…. Deliciously Draco….

Cho Chang surveyed the Quidditch Pitch eagerly. Not a person in sight. Good, now she could go and practice…. That was what she thought, until Neville Longbottom cornered her. Cho wrinkled her nose. What did Neville want with her? She barely knew him.

"Hi, Cho!" squeaked Neville.

Cho smiled weakly in response.

"Could I have a word with you?"

Cho glanced at her watch. "OK," she conceded.

Neville beamed, but then looked decidedly nervous. "D-Do youwant togo withme?' he asked quickly, not making much sense.

"What?" cried Cho, confused.

Neville positively mortified. "To the Yule Ball!" he squeaked.

Cho bit her lip. Clearly no, she thought inwardly. But what the hell…! She hadn't met a decent guy in ages. Her darling Cedric was gone, Harry made her cry, Michael was a moron and Roger was a womanizer. Cho regarded Neville carefully. He certainly won't cheat on me… she smirked.

To Neville, she smiled and nodded. "Of course! I'd love to go with you!"

Neville lit up so brightly, Cho was afraid she would get an electric shock if she touched him.

Pansy was disgusted. Absolutely disgusted. She watched from behind her pillar as her beloved Draco locked lips with that Weasel prat. Pansy's blood ran clod as tears sprang into her eyes. "How could he!" she whispered to herself. She had been following him for days, waiting to spring the question because she knew Draco wouldn't. But now Draco was willingly kissing that horrible Gryffindor. Pansy could think of nothing more revolting. She just wanted to step in and pull them apart, but something stopped her. _Don't get mad, get revenge_, she thought to herself.

So, clever Pansy came up with a plan. She decided to ask, Dean, Ginny's ex to the ball. That way both of them could work on tearing Draco and Weasly apart. _I'll_ _make Draco jealous,_ Pansy thought bitterly. _And I'll make Weasly positively unhappy!_ Pansy rubbed her hands together, suddenly grinning gleefully.

_Oh, this was going to be a very interesting Yule Ball indeed…_


	2. Chapter Two

**The Yule Ball 2**

**Chapter Two**

**Flamingo's Little Note: **So, if you've just begun or returning for more, hi! This chapter is mainly tying up the loose ends from Chapter one, but there are surprising new developments too. There is a lot of 'pondering' involved, but hopefully you will find it interesting! Without further ado…chapter 2.

Parvati trudged to the common room sadly. Talking to Harry Potter had made her very glum. Their conversation had dredged up carefully buried grief and hurt and Parvati hated to deal with anything somber. However, her mother's death had revealed a rather different Parvati Patil inside that protective shell of falseness, and …shallowness. Now, the shell had disintegrated completely and she just felt bare, vulnerable and alone.

Of course, she had Padma, but Padma's way of dealing with grief was throwing herself into her studies. Parvati barely spoke to her these days, but when she did see her mirror reflection (except the bags under the eyes) she did say hi. Oh, she desperately wanted to pore out her feelings to someone.

Lavender was no good. The best friends who had been so close had drifted slightly apart. Parvati suspected it was because of her change of personality, but honestly she didn't want to go back to her old, false self. Anyway, Lavender seemed she had a lot on her mind lately, but Parvati didn't know what. She had lost interest in funky hairdos, jewelry, shopping and boys. Her former favorite things seemed so insignificant. Parvati suddenly felt small and worthless. It was not a good sensation to experience.

Parvati didn't even care about the upcoming ball. Maybe she could stay up and read a bit while everyone was dancing….

…

Hermione sighed. She knew she had a pile of homework waiting for at her desk today. She slid off the couch, yawning. Might as well get to it, she thought tiredly. Ron had sped off to Quidditch Practice, so Hermione was free of cute distractions, but homework didn't seem as appealing anymore. Reluctantly Hermione trudged to her desk and shuffled through her papers.

"My Astronomy essay!" Hermione muttered, arranging her papers neatly on one side. "Ron must have borrowed it," she thought, slightly irritated. She trudged down to the common room and made her way to the work area frowning.

She immediately spotted a sheet of her neat writing lying on Ron's desk and shook her head. She was about to pick it up when she noticed a small, plain black book. "What is this?" she asked herself, curious. She tentatively reached out and flipped through, glimpsing flashes of Ron's scrawl penned in blue or black ink. She didn't know what happened; she opened the first page and peered down inquisitively.

The writing read:

This Journal belongs to: Ron Weasley

Intrigued, Hermione turned one more page.

_October 1_

_Today was rubbish. Harry was moody. Our lessons were absolutely awful. Snape was a stinking dingbat and set up an equally stinky potion to brew. And worst of all, Hermione was in her naggy mood. _

_"Do your homework, Ron!"_

_"You'd better do your homework, Ron!"_

_"Ron!"_

_Ron this and Ron that. Honestly, she is worse than my mother at that stuff. And of course, she blames for everything and won't let me take responsibility for my own actions. That's just her, I guess._

_Anyway, very mucky day--don't even want to talk about it._

_Ron_

Stung, Hermione didn't know what had gotten into her; she couldn't stop reading on.

October 13

_I seriously bummed out. A very nightmarish sort of day. Started out normal, had Herbology with the Hufflepuffs and Care of Magical Creatures with the Slytherins and then Hermione and I had the biggest fight of our lives. About that dastardly bastard, Viktor._

_She started carping (about who knows what) as usual and I retorted and then she told me to shut up. I snapped back, she was just getting on my nerves. Then, get this, she said that Viktor always treated her with respect and I was crum compared to him. Viktor, Viktor, Viktor! I thought that they weren't going out._

_I told her to shut up about it and stop being a nuisance._

_She, of course didn't stop, muttering under breath and scowling. Then I started muttering under my breath to retaliate. She wouldn't talk to me the rest of the day. Hermione **is** my best friend, but sometimes I really can't stand her. If she goes on like this, she will end up an old maid. I don't know who'll put up with her--"_

Hermione gasped and slammed the book shut.

"Hermione!" she heard a bewildered Ron's voice in the background. Apparently he had returned from Quidditch.

Hermione whirled around, large pearly tears forming in her eyes. She sniffed and fled past that lanky redhead, her heart pounding.

…

After Seamus had departed, Lavender closed the door and closed her eyes for a moment, leaning against the door. She took a deep breath to calm her self. She couldn't believe she was going to do this. Seamus was not to going to suspect a thing! Lavender sighed blissfully and walked over to the bed. She suddenly grasped her pocket to check if it was still safe inside. She sighed with relief when she felt it rub against her skin. _Good_, she thought, _I can't wait until the Yule Ball_.

…

Oliver Wood glanced at the towering grey structure before him fondly. He was back where he belonged.

_Fame certainly was a fickle friend. _

He had loved the attention at first. Puddlemere United champion keeper, Oliver Wood defends against winning Ireland. Then there was the constant noise, people, nosy questions…Oliver found it tiring. The last thing he wanted to do was attend the Quidditch Quills press conference in France that week.

So, his kind headmaster, Dumbledore had invited him back to dear Hogwarts for the Yule Ball. Oliver was glad to escape all the fame and glory and just enjoy a couple of spins in his old Quidditch Pitch and maybe read and have fun at the ball a bit even. Whatever it was, he was going to have a relaxing, fun week at his former school. Oliver took a deep breath and knocked with large brass knocker.

Little did he know he would face the likes of Luna Lovegood, and no champion Keeper skills would help him this time!

…

_He had kissed a Weasley! _

_A mudblood-lover! _

_A Gryffindor! _

_A mud-blood loving Gryffindor Weasley!_

And they had kissed in front of the library, where anyone could see!

Draco could hardly believe it. After a few minutes of making out passionately outside the library, Ginny and Draco spilt apart and hurried away, muttering nonsense to themselves. Now Draco was trudging back to the Slytherin common room, smelling of the goodness of Ginny Weasley.

That certainly wasn't good. He'd have to sterilize himself before the other Slytherins smelt him out, but that was the least of his worries.

Draco was never flustered when he kissed a girl. Instead he was cool, confident and manly and the girls loved it. Weasley however made him nervous, flustered. It was the way she spoke to him, not a trace of attraction, yet they had just….

Draco was very confused indeed.

What he need was time to think and hope…that no one had seen them.

…

Neville beamed with happiness as he entered the Gryffindor common room. He spotted his pal, Seamus in the corner watching the flames crackle merrily. "Hey! Neville cried, trying to hide the excitement in his voice.

"What are you so excited for?' questioned Seamus glumly.

"Cho Chang is coming with me to the Yule Ball," Neville puffed up with pride.

Seamus just stared.

"Was she feeling ok, Neville?"

Neville frowned. 'Yeah? Why?"

Seamus just shook his bemusedly.

Neville sighed happily. "I'm going robe shopping for the ball. Coming?'

Seamus shrugged. "I'm not coming." He stated forlornly.

Neville grimaced. "You're really going to wear last times' robes, are you? I wish I could, but it's a few inches--"

"Neville!" cried Seamus irritably. "I'm not coming to the Yule Ball."

Neville look slightly taken aback. "Oh…I see. Why?"

"Because I don't have a date, that's why!"

"Why?" prodded Neville.

Seamus just sighed.

"I'm going to find out what Lavender is hiding from me," he declared determinedly.

…

Dean was poring over his muggle football magazine when _she_ arrived.

"Hello, Dean," voiced a deep, flirtatious voice.

Dean's head jerked up, startled.

"Pansy?" he cried, surprised.

A dark headed, pale girl, smiled shyly up at him.

"Want to go to the ball with me?" she murmured sweetly.

Dean gulped. _"What?"_

Pansy frowned. "I said will you--"

"No, no, I know what you said, it's just that you--I--" Dean's voice faltered.

Pansy's eyes gleamed as she inched closer. "You and I?"

Dean gulped again.

"I-I don't know," he stammered.

Pansy grinned. "I'll take that as a yes. Meet me at Hogosmeade tomorrow, I have an interesting proposition for you." With a swish of her jet-black head, she disappeared around the corner.

Dean was left his mouth hanging and his heart in his throat.

_Tomorrow it is,_ he thought, overwhelmed.

**Flamingo's Little Note:** So, what did you think/ Should I try to speed it up a little? It's rather slow moving. Umm…what did you think of the diary idea. Did you get my very obvious hints about Lavender/Seamus…Harry/Parvati, Neville/Cho? But remember the pairings don't have to stay the same (hint hint)

4


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